Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen has warned that there is absolutely no chance of India accepting any amendments or conditions to the negotiated US-India civilian nuclear agreement.
He also predicted that any such amendment to the deal such as a fissile material cut-off or safeguards on its fast-breeder research program would "make the agreement a non-starter."
Sen spoke exclusively with rediff- India Abroad at his residence after a recent trip to India, where he spent a few weeks, mainly in New Delhi to help negotiate the agreement and prepare for and then receive President Bush and his delegation.
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When asked if India would accept any conditions to the deal at this point in order to ensure passage in the US Congress, Sen pointedly replied, "Zero."
He said that concerns over the agreement "have been expressed not only in the United States but also in India," but argued that "many of these apprehensions are due, in my view, to the lack of a broader perspective about the nature and significance of the civilian nuclear understanding."
Sen said that "due to domestic criticism in both our countries, it was not an easy decision for either Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or for President (George W) Bush. But their decision to go ahead with this was undoubtedly bold and visionary and certainly augurs well for the future of India's strategic partnership with the United States."
He said the fears by some of the critics of this agreement that it would legitimize and help India's nuclear weapons program -- were totally misplaced because this agreement was exclusively "about promoting civilian nuclear cooperation under IAEA safeguards, and it has nothing to do with our strategic nuclear program, which will continue with or without this agreement."
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Sen strongly defended the Bush Administration's decision to single out India and request Congress to provide a waiver to the Atomic Energy Act. Such a waiver envisages the passage of its draft proposal to sell India nuclear technology and fuel; Sen said it's a fallacy to believe that this deal would undermine in any way the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty and encourage not only the so-called rogue states but other countries with nuclear capabilities to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
"The fact is that India is a unique case," he said, adding that "we were the first country in Asia to set up a nuclear reactor on our own. We were also one of the first five or six countries in the world to develop full nuclear fuel cycle capabilities, based on a three-stage energy program announced in the 1940s, even before our independence."
"We were the first and only country in the world to acquire strategic nuclear capabilities which did not commence with a dedicated nuclear weapons program. We were the first country in the world to call for a nuclear test ban treaty and to advocate global nuclear disarmament," he pointed out.
While India did not sign the NPT, "we have never sought to undermine this treaty. In fact, we had strict export controls in place long before nuclear nonproliferation regimes were even conceived of, let alone codified."
"In fact," he argued, "India's track record on nonproliferation is better than many members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group."
Thus, "to equate India with countries which voluntarily signed the NPT and now seek to renege on their international obligations is absurd."
By the same token, "It would be equally wrong to seek to compare India with countries which are known proliferators and those who have covertly acquired nuclear weapon technologies from another state."
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He also found it "somewhat curious that countries perched under protective nuclear guarantee umbrellas, or those facing no conceivable nuclear threats, tend to be somewhat more sanctimonious in voicing their concerns."
The civilian nuclear deal would be a boon to India because it would reduce the major constraint on India's economic development, "which is vital for banishing poverty and realizing the basic needs and aspirations of millions of our people." It would also help in addressing the growing problem of scarcity of water in India."
While India had the world's third largest reserves of coal, these were located in one section of the country and had a large ash contention. "Our hydro-electric potential and natural gas reserves are limited. So we have few other options for reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels. So we need to substantially increase our nuclear power generation capacity to promote energy security."
A variety of benefits from this deal would also accrue to America and the average American, he said. "If we in India reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels, one obvious consequence would be the stabilization of international oil prices at lower levels. So, American citizens will obviously benefit from lower and more predictable prices of gasoline and home heating or cooling costs."
But the long-term benefits to the US would be significant because even going by conservative projections, "India would need to import around 60,000 megawatts of nuclear power generating capacity in the next two and a half decades, and American companies like GE would obviously get a major stake of this multi-billion dollar business."
"This would translate into tens of thousands of new jobs in this country, and moreover, with greater energy security, India's economic growth rate would be sustained at very high levels and the Indian market's demand for both capital and consumer goods would expand rapidly. So a wide range of companies, apart from the nuclear power suppliers, would increase from the increased prosperity in one of the fastest growing markets, which could very soon become the world's fastest growing market."
Sen said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the mark when she wrote in her op-ed in The Washington Post on March 13 that the new partnership between the United States and India would have a decisive influence on the future of the global system as it evolves in the coming decades. "And yes, the civilian nuclear deal does fit into this perspective," Sen said.
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"Just imagine, look at it purely in strategic terms. If India continues to grow as an economic power, it would be a major factor for balance and stability in Asia and the world."
Sen also rubbished as "totally baseless," a new report by the Institute for Science and International Security authored by its president, David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector and physicist, who poked holes in India's 'so-called' impeccable nonproliferation track record, saying that the ISIS has uncovered a well-developed, active, and secret Indian program to outfit its uranium enrichment program and circumvent other countries' export control efforts.
Albright, who is regularly called upon to testify before Congress, also argued in his report that Indian procurement methods for its nuclear program also leak sensitive nuclear technology. Challenging Albright to "give one instance where anything has gone out," he said: "This is all a lot of innuendo. You cannot take on innuendo."
"If you apply the same microscope to any country, you will find our record is better than any other country. That's a fact. It's excellent. And as I said, it's certainly better than most of the countries which currently belong to the Nuclear Suppliers Group."
